Commentary
In March, the FCC and USAC worked hard to stand up the first of
three pandemic-related special programs, the Emergency Broadband
Benefit Program (EBBP). Rules for the $3.2 billion EBBP were
adopted in February and the Wireline Competition Bureau
(Bureau) issued milestones in March for ETC election notices,
non-ETC applications and applications to use alternative
verification systems. Acting Chairwoman Rosenworcel said in
mid-March that over 100 applications or election notices were filed
(we believe the number is much higher now); clearly the program is
attracting a lot of interest from service providers and, in
particular, from service providers that have not heretofore
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After a purported five years of unsuccessful negotiations, Sol IP, LLC has thrown the patent book at
Qualcomm (6:21-cv-00270), accusing the chipmaker of
infringing 28 patents, broadly directed to wireless communications,
including LTE, 5G, and Wi-Fi technologies. The plaintiff pleads
that it is an intellectual-property licensing company
organized and existing as a limited liability company under the
laws of Virginia that holds an exclusive license to the
Asserted Patents from Electronics and Telecommunications Research
Institute (ETRI), a South Korean research institution, which transferred to Sol IP all substantial rights in those
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On March 10, 2021, President Biden signed the American Rescue
Plan Act, the COVID-19 stimulus bill recently enacted by Congress.
The Act allocates $1.9 trillion to provide relief to businesses and
individuals that are struggling due to COVID-19. Importantly, it
appropriates $7.17 billion for emergency support for remote
learning and remote library services. This stimulus follows $3.2
billion appropriated for an Emergency Broadband
Benefit for low-income consumers and caps over $13 billion in
broadband funding provided in addition to the traditional
Universal Service Fund programs.
The new Emergency Connectivity Fund ( ECF ) will
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The FCC released the agenda for its next
Open Meeting, scheduled for March 17, 2021. The March meeting will
notably include a Report and Order that would reallocate 100
megahertz of prized mid-band spectrum in the 3.45 GHz band through
Auction 110, and propose a band plan for the new 3.45 GHz flexible
use wireless service aimed at supporting 5G
technologies. The FCC will also consider a Public Notice for
Auction 110 that would seek comment on appropriate auction
application and bidding procedures. While the FCC is required to
start the auction by the end of 2021, the agency expects Auction
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As required by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021
( CAA ), on February 25, 2021, the FCC adopted a Report
and Order to officially establish the Emergency Broadband Benefit
( EBB ) Program. Since the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a
rise in virtual services and learning, access to broadband services
has now become essential for most households. With this in mind,
the program is designed to provide broadband services to help
low-income households in particular stay connected. We have
summarized the program and noted some key provisions and next steps